Father and Son
by FrostedEmber
Summary: Series of oneshots about the possible meetings of Negi and the Thousand Master. THIRD: Nagi is captured by a rather unorthodox group of people.
1. Late

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Negima. 

**Author's Notes: **Well, this is the first of a series of oneshots I'm going to do about Negi and the Thousand Master's first meeting. Each of the oneshots will be different and some of them aren't really meant to be taken seriously. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this.

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Quick and precise steps past fallen bodies of demons brought the Thousand Master closer to the center of it all. A wry smile appeared on his face as he surveyed the place. His son had done a good job in this battle. Only demon bodies littered the ground, indicating that his son's side had suffered no casualties in this epic battle.

_Looks like you didn't need me at all, Negi_, he thought with a proud smile as he caught sight of a large group of people to the north. _Still though, it will be nice to see you for the first time after all these years. _

He'd come here with the intention of helping his son. But it seemed he'd come too late. The party was already over. _Damn, and here I was thinking I could earn some points by acting cool and saving them at the last moment._

As he drew nearer, he could hear the chatter going through the group. They were all rejoicing and celebrating the fact that they were alive and breathing while some were wondering when they would be able to go home. Strangely, though, they all sounded like girls. _Eh? Has my son grown up to be a manly stud? _A slightly perverted chuckle escaped his mouth at that thought. _Growing up to be just like his old man. _

"Chisame-san! Watch out!"

"Huh?…NEGI-SENSEI!"

Nagi's blood ran cold at that horrified shout and he broke out into a sprint. _Negi…what happened to Negi? _His brain demanded to know.

"NEGI-SENSEI!"

The shout was echoed by the other girls in the clearing as they all compressed on one spot to the side.

"Konoka-san! Please help Negi-sensei!" someone shouted frantically.

If he had been concentrating hard enough on it, Nagi would have heard steel, bullets and fists tearing through demon armor but the sole thought that occupied his mind was of his son's well being.

"N-nothing's happening! He's not responding to my healing!" another girl sobbed out loud. "Negi-kun, get a hold of yourself!"

"Baka Negi! Get up. You're okay, right? So, get up! Stop worrying all of us like this!"

"Asuna-san…"

"Negi-kun…"

Sobs started to come from the girls and many of them seemed to just break down.

Nagi pushed his way through the people crowding around his son and he nearly froze at the sight of his son. Outwardly, he seemed to be alright, merely taking a nap on the lap of a pretty girl. But that was just outward appearances. _He's not breathing!_

"Thousand Master," a soft growl reached his ears.

Despite the current situation, Nagi couldn't help but be surprised at who he saw. "Eva?"

Tears streamed down the Dark Evangel's face as she, nonetheless, leveled him with the darkest look he had ever seen on her. "You…how dare you?! How dare you come so late!" Ice lances started to form above Eva as grief seemed to overtake her.

"Eva-san, that's enough," came a low voice from near his son's body. The girl who had spoken strode towards him, her face covered by the shadows cast by her hair.

Evangeline, though, was not ready to back down. "Kagurazaka, if he had just come earlier, Negi wouldn't have…!"

_Asuna? Is this…Asuna?_

"I know," replied the pigtailed girl in that same soft voice. Finally, she reached Nagi, her head still lowered.

The blow had been so unexpected that the Thousand Master hadn't even attempted to block or evade it. _She punched me!_

"You bastard! What gives you the right?" Asuna cried, still throwing punches at him. "Where were you each of the times Negi came so close to death because he was training himself so hard to measure up to you? Where were you when he was nearly turned into an ermine? Where were you when he cried himself to sleep because he felt responsible for bringing all of us into this? Where were you earlier when he was fighting tooth and nail to protect everyone? Where were you when that demon hit him?" By that time, she had stopped punching him and had collapsed on the ground, sobbing helplessly. Her next question was almost pathetically weak. "Where were you all his life?"

"Asuna…" Nagi said in awe as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Negi-sensei," the soft, haunted voice drifted through the group and diverted all attention to the orange-haired girl with glasses delicately cradling Negi's head on her lap. "I thought I told you no heroics."

"Chisame-san," whispered Asuna.

_The girl Negi must have saved, _Nagi concluded, starting to walk towards his son.

Chisame's eyes had the look of the haunted, as if she couldn't believe that this was really happening. Her hands were running through his hair and her tears were slowly dripping onto Negi's peaceful face.

_If I hadn't taken so long…_the Thousand Master never finished the thought as his eyes landed on a horribly mutilated demon nearby. _This demon…_

"Evangeline!"

The shinso turned away and sniffed, whether it was out of disdain or to hide her tears, Nagi didn't know. "I have nothing to say to you."

"This is important! Is this the demon that attacked Negi?"

Evangeline was so taken aback by the sudden and seemingly off-topic question that she forgot to give him the silent treatment. "I…yes."

"Who's Negi's partner?"

"Everybody."

_Everybody? Manly stud, indeed. _Nagi pushed that thought away and started to address everybody in the group. "Negi's not dead. If you could just…"

The girls that had broken down raised their heads. "He's not?"

Chisame turned towards him, still wearing that haunted look.

"No. But he will be soon if we don't act. The demon that hit him took away all of his magic, something that could be fatal if it's done all at once. He's hanging on by a string right now. What Negi needs is a jumpstart to his magic."

"Couldn't you give him yours?" asked a girl sporting large, white wings.

"No. Like blood, the magic has to be a certain kind to be given. If I gave him my magic without checking if we're compatible, I might end up poisoning him," Nagi explained. "And the compatibility check will take too long."

"Get to point," said a Chinese girl with blonde hair bluntly. "How to revive Negi-bozou?"

Nagi took a deep breath, thanking whatever higher power that he hadn't been asleep the day this had been discussed at the Academy. "Take out your pactio cards and say 'Cancel Contract'. The magic that was used in the making of the cards, as well as any magic Negi lent you, should go back to him and give him the jumpstart he needs. But do it quick. If he dies before you do…" He trailed off, not willing to continue.

Asuna didn't waste a moment in taking out her card. "Cancel Contract," she recited, her eyes growing wide as the card dissolved and its small particles started to float towards Negi. The moment Negi's body absorbed the magic, it felt as if she'd become weaker but to her, it hardly mattered. The only thing that mattered to her at the moment was Negi.

Following Asuna's example, the other girls did likewise and before long, strings of magic were floating towards the fallen child teacher.

Once all the strings had been absorbed by the boy, Nagi let out a sigh. "All we can really do now is wait. It shouldn't take too long but it's probably better to move him somewhere safer. This place," he cast a look around at all the demon bodies, some of which he weren't even sure were dead yet. "Can't be safe for recovery."

The girl that was cradling Negi's head on her lap made no move to follow his suggestion.

There was an audible 'click' of a gun as a dark-skinned girl straightened, wiping some tears away. "If any of them decide to stand back up,"

A sword was unsheathed and the winged girl managed a smirk. "Then we'll have no choice but to wait till Negi-sensei wakes up,"

"And do what we do best de gozaru," spoke the tall girl dressed in ninja clothes serenely.

"Kicking butts aruyo!" exclaimed the Chinese girl, now certainly more cheerful.

"And taking names, too," added in Asuna with a grin.

Evangeline sighed dramatically, shrugging. "Well, if I must,"

"I do what Master does," intoned the girl that looked like a robot obediently, though it seemed to Nagi that even if Evangeline wasn't going to help, she would anyway.

"And we'll serve as back up," said a girl with long bangs in front of her eyes confidently.

All throughout the crowd, the others began to agree and throw in their two cents, seemingly revived from their depression just minutes ago.

_Amazing how much they all care for Negi, _thought an awed Nagi as he watched a couple of them pump their fists into the air energetically. He cast his eyes toward his son. _You didn't need me at all, did you, Negi?_

"That won't be necessary," a flat voice came from Chisame.

Immediately, everyone faltered and their gazes turned to the girl.

"What do you mean?" asked Asuna, taking a step forward to her classmate, concerned that something in the girl had finally snapped.

"Because sensei is…" Her shoulders hunched, shaking slightly and everyone feared the worst. "Sensei is…" She raised her head, tears glistening in her eyes. "Sensei is waking up."

At that moment, a few girls had to be physically checked to keep from hitting Chisame for scaring them like that.

_And so he is, _Nagi thought with a relieved sigh as he watched Negi stirring. _About time, too. These girls seem to really need you, Negi. It makes me shudder to think what might have happened if you'd really died._

"Chisame-san?" came Negi's groggy voice as one eye opened, then two. "Chisame-san, are you…" he coughed as he tried to sit up but was pushed back down by the person he'd been using as a pillow. "Is everyone okay?"

"Geez, you really are a baka teacher. It'll be a miracle if any of us get into high school with you doing the teaching," muttered Chisame as she frantically tried to wipe away her tears. "You nearly died, baka, and you're asking me if _we're _okay?" Muttering more under her breath, she hit Negi lightly on the head.

"The answer to your question is easy, Negi-sensei," spoke the girl with long bangs.

"We're perfectly fine now that you're alright," continued the girl next to her who had long, dark blue hair.

Evangeline sniffed, crossing her arms across her chest. "You should have seen them, crying like babies," she said as she turned away.

"But wasn't Master also 'crying like a baby'?" asked the robot. For a moment, Nagi could have sworn he'd seen a mischievous smile on her face but perhaps he had been mistaken.

"Be quiet, Chachamaru!" hissed Eva, a blush rising to her face.

Negi, who Chisame had finally allowed to sit up, watched the ongoings with a curious look before his face broke out into a grin. "I'm glad everyone's alright,"

The girls seemed to take that as a sign since right after they heard it, they began to mob him, hugging him, asking if he was alright, if this or that hurt or if they could be partners with him again.

At that last question, Negi blinked. "Eh? But we're already partners!"

"Everyone cancelled their contracts with you so that you could get some of your magic back," Nagi spoke up for the first time since his son had been revived. "If you want your partners back, you'll have to form the contract again."

Immediately, this caused a sensation among the girls since some of they wanted to 'practice' forming the contract and the others were trying to be the voices of reason, telling their friends that Negi was too weak for that right then and that, maybe (cue evil gleam) he'd had time for them later. Negi's wide eyes stayed on his father, though.

"Father?"

"Yo, Negi," Nagi gave him a peace sign and a grin. "Sorry I'm a little late."

Not too far away from the Thousand Master, Asuna scoffed, even as she tried to stop a pinkhaired girl from molesting Negi right then and there.

"Father, how is it that—?" A gesture from the older man stopped Negi.

"We'll take about that later," said Nagi with a wave. "Right now, just celebrate and enjoy yourself. I promise I'll be here."

The child teacher smiled at that before he turned, welcoming the hugs and pats on the heads he received from his students and friends.

Nagi's eye turned towards one of the few girls who stayed away, eyeing her warily. "So, Eva, you're still not mad about that curse, are you?" he asked the girl. While she looked more mellowed out now than she did nearly two decades back, it paid off to be cautious sometimes.

The Dark Evangel stared at him for a few moments before she let out a "Pfft!" and turned to join the others as one of the voices of reason.

"My Master would like you to know she has nothing to say to you right now," said the girl Eva had called Chachamaru with a polite bow. "She would also like you to know that you'd better be glad she doesn't 'spill your guts right here and now', I believe were her exact words. She'll tolerate you only because you helped Negi-sensei out." With another polite bow, Chachamaru walked off to join the others.

Nagi grinned to himself as he watched his son being coddled by quite a number of girls, not the least of which included a shinso, a ninja, a mercenary, a bird-tribe member, a Net Idol and well, Asuna.

_You grew up just fine by yourself, Negi. _

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**Author's Notes: **I hope you enjoyed that. Chisame was supposed to be the main girl here but it was really hard (and kinda cruel) to just shift the other girls off to the side. Even if it didn't really turn out the way I intended, I still enjoyed writing it and hopefully, you enjoyed reading it.

Feel free to drop me a line if you want a certain girl or situation to show up in the next few chapters. Just so you know, if I happen to accept a request, it won't show up until probably the fourth oneshot since I've already done two more for this series. Also, I'm not particularly keen on doing a NegiNodoka or NegiYue. It's not like I object to those pairings, I just find things harder to do if I'm not interested in it. Any other pairing is free for the taking/requesting though.

Read and Review!


	2. Chase

**Author's note: **This is set four years after present Negima manga.

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The man panted hard as he raced through the forest. If he could just make it to the village, he wouldn't have to…He broke off his line of thought when he jumped to avoid being impaled by a lance of ice. _Even if I did make it to the village_, he thought darkly, _whoever's pursuing me is probably heartless enough to kill innocents._ _I have to make my stand here! _Having decided, he called his staff to him and stopped running, turning in the direction he had come from.

"Whoever you are, don't expect any mercy," he growled out, already preparing his strongest spell. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this…

"Fufufu…Still the same, aren't you, Nagi?" his pursuer finally spoke, emerging from the shadows of a large tree.

The Thousand Master's eyes widened in shock as he realized just who it was he had been running from. She looked a bit older than her real form yet younger than her normal illusion but there was no denying that it was the Gospel of Darkness smirking smugly at him.

"Evangeline! How did you—?" Nagi shook his head. It didn't matter now how she got through his spell. Nineteen years was a long time and she had probably found a way or a fool to help her. "I had hoped you would have changed while staying at Mahora but I guess that was a foolish hope, wasn't it? Why are you after me? I told you already. I won't become your 'Dark Prince'."

The vampiress actually blinked in confusion at him before she broke out in peals of laughter. Strangely, there seemed to be echoes of her laughter around the woods but they weren't the same pitch or tone as hers. _Did she bring backup? _The mage wondered.

"Don't be foolish," she spat out venomously after she had finished laughing. "First of all, I _did _change while at Mahora. I'm no longer the person I used to be, Nagi. I'm not here to pursue you, just so you know, but I'm here accompanying a few…friends of mine."

_So that's it_, Nagi thought with a frown. _She teamed up with my other enemies. _Quickly and mentally, he tried to deduce which ones she was collaborating with.

Her smirk reappeared then as she started to walk away from the tree and into the clearing. "Second of all, I already have my Dark Prince," she said smugly. "And you, Nagi, aren't him."

Silence descended on the clearing and the man sped up his guess of which one of his enemies Eva had teamed up with. If he could just do that, then it would be so much easier fighting them. He would know what they might try together or how well their powers would compliment each other's. He was distracted from his thinking though when the girl in front of him began fuming as each second passed and nothing happened. He looked blankly at her, wondering why she wasn't doing anything to him yet.

"…All alike," she muttered under her breath, a knot forming on her forehead.

"Um…Eva?"

"Shut up!" the shinso snapped at him before turning to the trees. "Goddamn you! Don't you have any mind for dramatic effects? You should have appeared three minutes ago!" she screamed childishly at the treetops.

Nagi was convinced that the vampire had lost it sometime during her stay at Mahora. There had been rumors that the World Tree might cause something like that, what with its unstable magic.

"He isn't here-aru,"

He wondered if what Evangeline had was contagious because he was quite convinced that the tree over there had just given a reply to the vampire's rantings.

"What the fuck do you mean he's not here? Where the hell is he then?!"

"He stayed back at that man's cabin, Eva-chan," said another tree. "He was really interested in all the things he found."

He nearly sighed in relief when two figures dropped down from the trees that had been talking. At least he wasn't going crazy. His grip on his staff tightened. But he was outnumbered by…Nagi blinked again when the moon shed some light on the two figures.

_No way! I have to fight teenage girls? How is this fair? _He whined internally as he looked at his two new opponents. One had dark brown hair with a few locks of hair in a ponytail to the right and the other one had blonde hair and dark complexion. Both of them were sending grins his way that told him if he made a wrong move, they would unleash everything they had on him.

"Let me guess, your brainwashed minions," Nagi looked towards Evangeline, eyes narrowed shrewdly.

She sent him an annoyed look. "His friends, actually, but they did need a bit of conditioning before they would agree to our every plan. Otherwise, they're really acting of their own volition."

"She's right, you know," the brunette said with a cheeky grin.

The blonde nodded sagely in agreement. "Would follow apprentice to the ends of the world-aru,"

"Apprentice?" echoed Nagi, feeling mildly insulted that whoever they were sending up against him was still an apprentice. "Don't tell me this so-called Dark Prince of yours is a newbie, Eva."

Evangeline leveled him with an annoyed glare. "Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about," she muttered before turning back to the trees once again. "Chachamaru, go get him!"

_Shit! There are more of them_. His grip on his staff tightened even more. _I have to get this over with soon. _

"_Cemedatos Astra…" _he started. By the time Evangeline knew what was going on, it was already too late to chant a counter-spell. "_Dios Tukos!_" A whip of lightning emerged from Nagi's outstretched hand before it expanded, heading straight for the three girls.

Just as it was about to hit them, though, a barrier appeared around them, protecting the girls from the blast and sending the lightning in every direction though the majority of it was sent up.

"Stupid idiot," Nagi heard Evangeline growl at something in front of her. "You're late."

The lightning dissipated, giving the Thousand Master a clear look at who she was talking to. His blood ran cold and he froze completely when he saw who it was.

No… 

"Eh? But didn't you want me to do a dramatic entrance?"

It couldn't be… 

"Then you should have been here ten minutes ago, baka!" Eva snarled, bringing her fist down on top of her savior's head and sending him tumbling towards the ground.

There's no way… 

"Geez, you're such a cruel girl, Eva-san,"

_I refuse to believe…_

"Eva-chan, you should be nicer to Negi," chastised the brunette as the blonde helped the teenage male up.

…_It's him. _

Finally, the shinso seemed to remember the Thousand Master's presence. She smirked at him, placing a hand on her companion's, the person she'd hit's, shoulder, though she had to reach a bit. After all those years, he was finally taller than her now.

"Nagi Springfield, allow me the pleasure of introducing you to the person who released me from your curse, my once-apprentice, the three-time winner of the Mahora Martial Arts Tournament, Magister Magi, Mahora Academy's youngest and favorite teacher, _my _Dark Prince and…your son, Negi Springfield," Eva finished with a sadistic smirk.

"You're starting to sound like Kazumi-san, Eva-san," commented the fourteen-year-old boy with a grin.

"Shut up and get on with the drama!"

"Hehe…As you wish," Hands in his pockets and posture irritatingly casual, the teenage male turned to the Thousand Master, still grinning although this grin was tinged with something Nagi couldn't quite place. Whether it was malice, sadness or anger, he didn't quite know.

"Negi…"

"Hello, Father,"

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**Author's Note: **Yes, it ends there. I might make a follow-up but that really depends on how well this is received. As for how Negi got that way…heh, you can use your imagination. The truth is, I don't have a clear explanation for it. Just know that this is fiction and you can put your imagination to good use.

In case you haven't guessed, the two 'trees' were Yuuna and Ku Fei.

Anyway, that's it. Stay tuned for the next possible meeting of father and son.


	3. Capture

Disclaimer: Don't own Negima. If I did, there would probably be more ecchiness. Author's Note: Set around two years into the future. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X 

The first thing he noticed when he woke up was that his head hurt like it had been tossed in front of a bullet train then run over…twice. His body wasn't in pain but it didn't seem like moving either. Reaching into the dark that was his mind, he tried to recall how he had gotten like this. He'd been going around Harajuku in disguise, trying to decide if he had the right to disrupt his son's life just by showing up once again.

He'd gone into a magic shop that had caught his interests and one of the attendants had offered him a delicious looking meat bun. The next thing he knew…he was here, blindfolded, being carried around on a stretcher and unable to move, not to mention, the migraine from hell.

"Hey, is it really alright to keep him like this?"

"If we did any less, he'll be sure to escape de gozaru."

"I see. Anyway, are we sure that this is the right guy, Hakase?"

"Yeah. My invention confirms 100 percent match. There's no doubt that this is the Thousand Master."

If he wasn't completely awake before, _that_ jolted him straight to alert consciousness. They knew who he was! But how? His disguise had been perfect, he'd made sure of that!

"Eh? This machine's really great then!"

"Un. There's nothing science cannot do."

_Fucking science. _

He paused in his cursing science when he realized that the voices did not seem to belong to the big, burly men or evil, psychotic women he'd gotten used to as his enemies. Rather, they seemed to belong to…teenage girls?

"He's awake de gozaru,"

"Eh? But that pill we gave him should have knocked him unconscious until we got back to the place!"

"He is the Thousand Master, after all, Makie-san. He's bound to surpass our expectations,"

"It doesn't really matter, Baka Pink. We're already here, de gozaru,"

Nagi could hear bolts being undone and a steel door opening. They were going down, he wagered. Underground was where all these types took him when they were lucky enough to catch him. Which was why he was surprised when he could feel them going up. Then again, _these types_ weren't usually teenage girls.

He sweatdropped as much as a man in his position could when he heard the cheesy elevator music. What kind of lunatics had he run into? Finally, there was a _ding_ and they got off.

"Ahh? So you finally caught him! Where?"

"Believe it or not, Kotaro-kun, we found him just around here."

"Really? Musn't be smart then. To hang around where people can easily find him."

"I'll have you know I can whip your ass with my eyes closed and one hand behind my back while feverish, boy," Nagi spoke in a raspy voice that sounded like it hadn't had any use in years, making him wonder just what had been in that meat bun.

There was a scoff from the boy. "You talk big for someone who's completely bound and at our mercy," remarked the one they had called Kotaro. "C'mon, let's take him inside. They're just about to finish up with a big-time drug dealer Kazumi-neechan caught."

Nagi could feel himself being lead into a room and it was there that his blindfold was taken off. His first guess had been right. He _was_ dealing with a bunch of kids, all female except for Kotaro and who he guessed was the drug dealer, a bound man, cowering and kneeling in front of an empty chair.

His eyes roamed around the room and they widened when they landed on a girl leaning against a pillar and glaring at the dealer with one eye while the other kept closed.

_Is that…Asuna?_

About to call out to her, he cut himself off when he saw two girls approaching her. A girl with long brown was clinging onto the other girl, who had her black hair in a ponytail to the right and the first girl seemed to be relating something to Asuna that involved waving one arm wildly around. The other girl looked liked she was fighting a laugh at her companion's antics.

"Boy," Nagi called out to Kotaro who he now realized had something akin to dog-ears on his head.

"What is it, ojisan?"

"Those two girls over there…with Asuna…"

"Ah? You mean Konoka-neechan and Setsuna-neechan? Yeah, they're involved with each other. Nobody here really minds though," said Kotaro casually, taking a position next to the Thousand Master.

Nagi fought to suppress a blush at the dog boy's words. "That's now what I was going to ask!" he protested with a frantic shake of his head, seeing as his limbs were still immobile.

"Then what were you going to ask?"

"Those two, are they close friends with Asuna?"

_If even Asuna grew up with such good friends and having a normal life…then everything will have been worthwhile. _

Kotaro shrugged. "I guess. You could even say they're her best friends. Well, aside from that violent Ayaka-neechan, of course," he said.

No sooner had he said that last comment when an apple collided with his head. "I heard that, you monkey," growled a pretty blonde as she emerged from a set of doors to the side. "It's not nice to talk about your elders behind their backs."

"Geez, neechan, you know I didn't mean it," grumbled Kotaro, rubbing his cheek. "Anyway, look who Kaede-neechan found in Harajuku." He gestured towards Nagi.

"We'd never have found him if Satsuki-dono hadn't been working part time in the magic shop at the time, de gozaru," said the tall girl who was dressed in what looked to be ninja clothes. "She was the one who subdued him by giving him one of the special meat buns she and Hakase-dono worked on last week. All we really did was the confirmation and the transportation, de gozaru."

Ayaka's eyes were twinkling as she looked at Nagi, causing him a bit of discomfort. "So this is sensei's…" Not finishing her statement, she turned to a dark-skinned girl carrying a pair of handguns. "Tatsumiya-san, please finish up with that lowlife."

"Iincho? But sensei's not here yet."

The blonde stepped aside to reveal Nagi. "I'm sure sensei will be more interested in him, Tatsumiya-san,"

Tatsumiya's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before a small smile appeared on her face. "I understand, Iincho," she murmured before shooting the drug dealer twice in the chest.

A shocked Nagi turned to his captors as the man's body was taken through a door by the girl who had shot him, horrified that they were doing such a thing at such a young age.

"Please don't misunderstand, de gozaru. Tatsumiya-dono's bullets are not meant for killing," said Kaede with an apologetic gesture, seeing the Thousand Master's horrified expression.

"The scumbag's going to wake up tomorrow and decide that he needs to change his life," Kotaro added. "He could also decide that he doesn't want to be anywhere near this area anymore and hightail it out of here but that's just a random side effect of the bullets. I'll tell you now that we're not the bad people here, ojisan."

A pink-haired girl nodded. "We're the ones who keep the bad guys out of Mahora and the nearby areas, Nagi-san."

Nagi frowned at this. "We're on the same side then!" he exclaimed, now trying to break from his bonds.

"We already know that, Nagi-san."

"Then why have you tied me up? Release me!"

Ayaka shook her head slowly. "I'm afraid we can't do that yet. If we do, how sure are we that you won't decide to run away and disappear like you did so long ago?"

What did they mean? He hadn't met any of these people before in his entire life! Well, maybe except for Asuna. Then again, Asuna probably didn't remember him anymore.

"Are you sure you're alright, sensei? Evangeline-san's training looked even harder than usual," a voice reached his ears from one of the numerous side doors.

"Don't worry about it, Nodoka-san. I've lived through worse. Besides, Master is only making sure that I live through whatever situation we get ourselves into next. "

_This must be their boss, then, _concluded Nagi, trying to catch a glimpse of this sensei, who didn't sound like he was past his teenage years. _Sensei must be some kind of codename or something. Lucky bastard, to be the boss of so many pretty girls. _His eyes landed on Kotaro. _And one guy too. _

One of the side doors opened and two people came into the room. From this angle, all Nagi was able to see was a girl with long, dark bangs and her companion's clothes. The girl seemed to have a permanent blush on her cheeks as she and 'sensei' walked over to the chair that the dealer had been cowering before. As 'sensei' finally appeared in his line of vision, Nagi's jaw dropped open and his eyes widened comically.

_He's their boss?_

"Huh? I thought Asakura-san caught a drug dealer?"

"We decided you had more pressing matters to attend to, Negi-sensei," spoke Tatsumiya, nodding in the Thousand Master's direction.

"F-Father?"

"Negi, I know that what I say isn't much but…damn, boy, I'm proud of you!"

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**Author's Notes: **Has it become obvious that I'm going to stop at their first words to each other? Heh, thought so. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this part. I'm still gonna go and think up of more situations.


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